There’s such a lot of world to see

Bit late with these final thoughts, I know, but in a way it’s good as it’s given me a chance to reflect and regroup my musings.  Or, that’s what I’m telling myself so I don’t feel guilty about leaving it too long again.  I’d be grateful if you could play along, thanks.

You know what?  I loved Australia.  Absolutely loved it.  Far, far more than I expected to.  Not that I didn’t expect to like it – far from it, I’d heard such good reports from everyone I knew who’d been there that I knew there had to be something in it – but there were countries I wanted to see more than Australia, fool that I am.

Right from the word go, it was wonderful.  I admit, this might have something to do with the amazing reception I got from Mike and Sheila in Perth – what a blessing it is to have such a huge, warm, welcoming family all over the world – but I don’t think it was only that.  Of course, I got to see the best of Perth and the environs, thanks to the marvellous tailor-made Rollos tours, but I think I would have fallen for it regardless.  Immediately, though cold (especially after the sultry mugginess of Asia), Australia seemed clean, well-ordered, with a good dollop of that famous laid-back attitude.  On the very first day, the people we were speaking to at the vineyards were funny, relaxed, interested and interesting.  They seemed delighted to welcome me to their country.

I’ve written earlier in these blogs about the wonderful sights of Perth, and these will stay in my memory forever, but a small incident sticks in my mind.  Things like this always endear a place to me, and, on the few occasions in my trip that it’s happened, I’ve immediately and irrevocably taken the place in question to my heart.  I was about to cross a road in the city centre, and had my map out to check I was going in the right direction.  A complete stranger came up to me, and simply asked, “Do you know where you’re going?” I did, but thanked him profusely for asking the question.  In fact, that’s one of my resolutions for when I get home, and if I could persuade just one other person via this blog to do the same, I’d be delighted.  If you see someone in your hometown with a map, or looking a bit lost, it takes just two minutes out of your day to check they’re ok, but I promise you, they will be grateful for a very long time to you.  Sometimes it’s the smallest things that can make someone’s day.  This will.

Sydney is the most fabulous city.  It’s jumped right up there with Paris and Hong Kong in the ‘cities I would live in’ league.  It’s both modern and historical, friendly, and … well… those sights bring a shiver to your spine, no matter how travel-jaded you are, no matter how many times you’ve seen them on tv.  Everyone seems to be happy in Sydney (maybe the council put happy pills in the water or something), and I think I would be permanently happy if I lived there as well.  Of course, the extra bonuses in Sydney equal, more than equal, the wonder of the city – my birthday, the BridgeClimb (I’ll say it again – DO IT DO IT DO IT), and meeting Andy – all mean that Sydney will always, always have a very special place in my heart, and I know for sure that I will be back.

Melbourne was of course wonderful because of the chance to meet up again with Alice and Hugh – the first people from my travels who I’ve met up with elsewhere, and on their home territory indeed!  Their hospitality was again outstanding, and I can’t wait to return the favour when they come to the UK (guys – get booking those tickets!).  Melbourne was also lovely because it reminded me of home, of Manchester.  Yes, it was cold and raining (so is Manchester), but the architecture, the trams, everything, made me feel at home instantly.  Add to this the whole Neighbours hysteria and, well, you’ve got yourself a pretty fine city.

And then the camper van – not only one of the highlights of Australia, but one of the highlights of my whole trip.  Everything – the freedom, the independence, the strangeness of the van, the singing all day long, the laughing, the camp sites, all conspired to make this feel like a holiday within a holiday.  It was incredibly nostalgic as well, reminding me of those much-loved caravan holidays as a child.  Crunchy Nut Cornflakes and everything!

Some of the towns we visited on the way up the coast showed a different Australia.  In many ways, the country reminded me of America – prosperous, happy, warm and friendly.  I guess this was perpetuated by some of the small, isolated towns we went to that were like small town America – some of them were more than a touch Redneck, and there were some curious stares in our direction as the strangers in town.  This, though, I guess is only to be expected, and I’m not so naive as to think that the same small-town mentality doesn’t exist in the UK – in fact, I know it does.

Still, this can by no way, shape, or form tarnish my view of Australia.  The people, the weather, the scenery, all add up to one big ‘WOW’ factor.  So I say this now – I know for most of you it is literally the other side of the world, but those hours in a plane will be more than repayed by good times and memories.  You’ll love it.  Trust me, I’m a converted Aussie-cynic.

Hmmm.  A tricky one, this. At the end of a month in Vietnam, I seem to have a different overall view of the country to most of my friends who were here at the same time. I don’t know if I’d say it’s been my favourite country in Asia – in fact, I’m sure I wouldn’t – but I still think it’s pretty great.  So many people are completely disillusioned with it that I wonder am I missing something but, you know what?  This is MY blog, for MY opinions (picture, if you will, me stamping my foot while I say that), so I’m about to offload them all right here.  

I still don’t know why the discrepancy is occurring.  A couple of people have had things stolen which, admittedly, would put a real downer on a place – I know a few other people who have been here in the recent past and have had things go walkabout, as well.  I haven’t, as far as I’m aware, had anything taken, so yes I’m probably lucky in that aspect.  A lot of people have issues with the scams, the hassles, and the bad attitude that tends to be around – especially around the tourist industry.  And yes, I have seen all these, and been at the wrong end of some of them.  But still, I like it here.  I don’t think I’m so stupidly optimistic that all I see is good in a place – in fact, cynicism is one of my worst faults – but I think that Vietnam deserves a chance.  And I’ve been in Asia for five months solid now, so I don’t think that it’s either naivety about the continent nor a honeymoon period.  My eyes are well and truly open, and yet I say – give it a chance.

My biggest gripe with Vietnam is one that’s entirely my own fault.  I don’t feel like I’ve got to see enough of the ‘real’ Vietnam as I have of other countries I’ve been to.  To be honest, I haven’t made the effort.  The tourist buses ply the well-worn route from north to south and vice versa, hitting the popular places, and nowhere in between.  This is so easy – and so cheap – that I’ve not tried at all to get off route, with the exception of going up to Sapa.  And yes, we were almost stung by an unscrupulous travel agent, but going to the train station proved how easy it is to get about under your own steam here.  I’m annoyed with myself, if anything, that I didn’t try to go it alone more often.

On the plus side, this has meant making loads and loads of new friends, and cementing some older friendships.  Because of the shape of the country (basically, long and thin), and the relatively standard time frames (here we get a one month visa, and most backpackers stay more or less the whole month), it’s very easy to meet people doing the same route in the same time as you.  Even if it doesn’t stay exactly that way, it’s likely that you’ll end up knowing people a couple of days ahead, and a couple of days behind you, and often overlap in lots of places with them – with most people converging at either Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi at either end.  I’ve made some legendary friends here, not only because they are sterling people in their own right, but also because the itinerary has allowed us to spend more time together than might have otherwise happened in a different shaped country.  God bless geography!

This has, of course, meant that Vietnam’s been a very sociable country, and some of the highlights have been nights out with new-found friends.  So, in a way, I guess I traded off a deeper knowledge of the country for friends.  And I don’t regret it one little bit (and I’m not just saying that because they’ll be reading this).  I couldn’t do it for much longer – after all I’m getting very old now – but thinking back to Vietnam will always bring a smile to my face.

Because it’s one of the more touristy places, and is getting very well set up for organised tours (not my cup of Vietnamese leaf tea at all, but each to their own), it’s one of the places I’ve visited so far that I would, without hesitation, recommend to people at home to visit.  It’s very easy to get around here and, as long as you keep your wits about you, is a safe place.

There are scams, of course.  Friends of mine experienced horrible bus journeys, we suffered at the hands of unscrupulous travel agents, too many things were stolen.  Unfortunately, it seems to be those in the tourist industry who are taking advantage.  This is horribly wrong and cynical – I have no objection to spending my money in a country, but targeting visitors is one sure fire way to stop them coming at all.  And yet – if I can be allowed to understand it without condoning it in the slightest – these people have, within the last 40 years, suffered utterly at the hands of a Western superpower.  They are still, by our standards, exceedingly, hideously poor.  So, presumably due to a combination of the two, they see us, no matter what kind of a low budget we are on, still able to afford both a passport and an air ticket to visit another country – beyond the wildest dreams of a lot of the Vietnamese people, for whom life is very much a day to day struggle.  Like I say, not condoning, nothing can excuse it, but perhaps understanding could help to change things.  Getting mad at someone who hassles you on the street (and I’m pointing the finger more at myself here than anyone else – I shouted at a cyclo driver who physically grabbed me to put me in his cyclo) will not, ever, change a culture.  What can be done?  I’m not sure, but I’m sure wiser people than me would have some ideas.

As well as meeting so many friends, there have been some memorable highlights in Vietnam that I will treasure.  Crossing the road through the insane traffic in HCMC and Hanoi and – miraculously – surviving.  The Easy Rider motorbike tour in DaLat.  Drinking in the lush scenery in Sapa.  Kayaking in the pouring rain in Halong Bay.  Best of all, though, was meeting the wonderful, welcoming family of tailors in Hoi An.  Not only did they make beautiful clothes (all arrived safely home now, thank goodness), but they welcomed us into their family in a way I’ve never experienced.  It was incredible and heart-warming and that shop remains my favourite place in Vietnam.  So was I just lucky?  I suppose yes, in one way, because I met them.  I have no doubt, though, that they would have extended that hospitality to everyone they met.  And I think that is the thing that makes me smile most.

And so it came to pass that I should leave Cambodia, after a whirlwind month in every corner of the country. It actually doesn't feel like I've spent a month here, despite it being much, much smaller than some ... [Continue reading this entry]

Right, I have a feeling I might need to apologise in advance for this one, as I might get a bit Ben Elton-ish (little bit of politics for you, folks), and this isn't really the right forum for that - ... [Continue reading this entry]

It's easy to see why, in the past, so many nations fought to make Sri Lanka part of their empires. I'm not condoning colonialism or any of its implications; this, however, does have the air of an island blessed ... [Continue reading this entry]

First of all, apologies to everyone for the lack of blogging over the last couple of weeks. My days fell into such a happy routine that would have been incredibly dull for you to read - "Woke up, had ... [Continue reading this entry]